


I'm Not Okay

by candypinksocks



Category: Franklin & Bash
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-19
Updated: 2013-08-19
Packaged: 2017-12-23 14:51:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/927799
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/candypinksocks/pseuds/candypinksocks
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"I want an annulment."</p><p>Peter's eating toast and drinking juice at the same time. Walking 'round the counter, he stacks up the papers for the deposition they've got this afternoon.</p><p>Jared doesn't choke on his own toast, but it's a close call.</p><p>"What?"</p><p>"An annulment, Jared. A dissolution of our partnership. We no longer need to be Mr and Mr Franklin-Bash."</p>
            </blockquote>





	I'm Not Okay

**Author's Note:**

> From a comment from misslola89 on the LJ F&B comm.
> 
>   _I was thinking today, as sweet as it would be to see a Peter/Jared wedding, how awesome would it be if the case or whatever caused it had already happened and they've been married this whole time? Then we could have Peter wanting to get it annulled because he wants to marry Charlie or whatever, and Jared coming up with different ways to delay it._
> 
>  
> 
> Title from the My Chemical Romance song of the same name.
> 
> And thanks to Vic as always for wrestling my commas.
> 
> ~~

"I want an annulment."

Peter's eating toast and drinking juice at the same time. Walking 'round the counter, he stacks up the papers for the deposition they've got this afternoon.

Jared doesn't choke on his own toast, but it's a close call.

"What?"

"An annulment, Jared. A dissolution of our partnership. We no longer need to be Mr and Mr Franklin-Bash."

They were never Mr and Mr Franklin-Bash, not really, just married for all the reasons that being married was better than just living together, and none of the other stuff, except maybe on days when they'd win a case and drink too much and one thing'd lead to another, or the times when they didn't drink and they didn't win and just did it anyways because they could. But Jared doesn't mention it, or that technically it'll be divorce, even though just the thought that they might not be _them_ anymore makes the toast stick in his throat. 

"Okay." Jared gets up and pushes the plate and most of what's left of his breakfast across the counter. He doesn't ask why, but he's got a pretty damn good idea. He's too calm. "When?"

"Soon I guess?" Peter's playing with what's left of his toast, uses it to push cold eggs across the plate 'til they're in a soggy pile close to the edge.

"Okay." Jared's not okay, not even close to it.

"Okay." Peter dumps his plate in the sink and doesn't look at Jared, just turns around and heads for the bathroom.

Jared's plate breaks when it lands next to Peter's. He doesn't bother to clean up the mess.

*

Peter spends the day on his side of the wall and doesn't answer the Skype ping, or when Jared throws his ball at the wall, or when he just straight up yells at him. It's not like Jared's the one asking for a _divorce_ , so he has no fucking clue what Peter's damage is. He can sit in his favorite chair and pretend he's got some awesome case he can handle all on his own all he wants. Jared doesn't care.

*

Peter doesn't wait for Jared and Jared doesn't go home. He finds a bar and a warm body and rolls into the office the next morning thirty minutes late, not giving a shit that he's still in yesterday's clothes or that the cologne he smells of is neither his nor Peter's.

Carmen smacks the back of his head and calls him a dumb ass and Peter closes his office door without so much as looking in on Jared.

It's going to be a spectacularly awesome day and it's only ten-thirty.

*

His laptop pings at one-thirty. The badly 'shopped avatar of Rachel's head on Medusa's body pops up over the game of solitaire he's been staring at for the last hour. Even she's mocking him. Although to be fair, Jared feels like that most days, so why should today be any different.

 _My office. Just you._

"Great."

There's not a single paper out of place on Rachel's desk. Correction - there's not a _single paper_ on Rachel's desk. Just an unopened laptop and half a cup of something that smells like ass. Steaming ass.

"I don't care what it is, get it resolved and do it quickly." She looks at him for a beat, eyebrow raised in a perfect arch. She doesn't ask for an explanation and Jared doesn't offer one, just turns to leave as she looks away, discussion, such as it was, over.

*

By five-thirty it's the longest Jared and Peter have gone without speaking to each other, if you don't count camp, since that time when they were fifteen and Leonard got the extra-large stick up his ass Jared's first year at Hightower and forbade Jared any contact with Peter 'til graduation. Not that either of them paid it any mind, just played it cool for two days and picked up right where they left off. Leonard forgot, or more likely, didn't care and Jared and Peter just carried on being Jared and Peter. And right this second, Jared isn't even sure what that is anymore.

He shoves his papers in his bag, kicks his chair under his desk, makes as much noise as he can and knows it's all for nothing when Peter doesn't so much as throw his ball at the wall or look out his door when Jared walks past.

*

"What did you do?" Carmen hands him a beer before he's even closed the door behind him. She's got that look on her face, the one none of them has a chance against, the one Peter calls her _'disarmed at a hundred paces'_ face. The one Pindy once tried to resist, spilled his guts in seconds and ran crying from. The one she's pointing at Jared right now. He's fucked.

"Nothing?" Even he doesn't sound convinced and Carmen's answering scoff speaks volumes to his sucky convincing skills. "Okay. _Okay_." And Carmen smiles and Jared remembers just why he loves her.

"Peter wants an annulment." Even though they both know it's not that at all, it just sounds better that way. "And I said 'okay' and now he's not even looking at me." He knows he's pouting, that he sounds like a five year old, but he can't help it.

"You said 'okay'?"

"Yeah?"

"Oh, Jared."

"I shouldn't have said 'okay'?"

Carmen shakes her head and rolls her eyes and pats his arm before she pushes her chair back. "We're going to need coffee and those donuts Pindy keeps hidden behind the Coco Puffs."

Jared's got a feeling the donuts hidden behind the Coco Puffs aren't the only thing he's completely clueless about.

"Now tell me everything Peter said and what you said back and don't leave anything out." And there's a reason why, when they need something finding out, they send Carmen.

"He said 'I want an annulment' and I said 'okay'. That's it."

"Oh, Jared." She pats his arm again. Shakes her head too and looks at him like maybe someone kicked his puppy. "You really have no idea, do you?"

"No? I erm - What?"

Carmen hands him two donuts and tops off his coffee before she sits down again, this time right next to him and lets her head rest on his shoulder. "I swear, you two are as dumb as a box of rocks."

Jared still doesn't get it, but he eats a donut in two bites and doesn't lick his lips _(ha I win!)_ except Peter's not there to smoosh the other donut in his face and say, 'you still suck', because Peter wants an annulment and isn't talking to Jared because Jared said 'okay'.

Carmen sighs and gives Jared a quick squeeze before she turns to face him, her hand resting on his arm. "Did you ever really think about why you two got hitched in the first place? And I don't mean for some dumb-assed, getting back at your dad reasons, so don't even think about saying that."

But it _was_ an awesome way to piss Leonard off. It's how Peter sold him on the idea in the first place. Not that Jared needed much selling. A weekend in Vegas with Elvis marrying them was reason enough alone. 

"I don't -" 

"And there lies every problem right there. You don't, and Peter's not telling you." She looks up as there's the sound of a key in the door. "And there's my cue to leave you two to it. Ask him, Jared."

And then she's gone and Jared's left just as confused as he was before the secret donuts. Peter looks surprised but not pissed off to see him, which is something, he guesses.

"Hey. Carmen found Pindy's stash. Want one?" As far as peace offerings go it's not great, but he has to work with what he's got.

"I got the papers for you to sign." Peter dumps a thick envelope on the counter in front of Jared and doesn't take the donut, or sit down or even fucking look at him, just stares at the fucking donut like it's got all the answers, his shoulders up somewhere near his ears.

And that. Is. It.

"Not 'til you tell me what the fuck is going on, Peter." Jared wanted to sound angry, but it comes out sad instead. 

Peter's shoulders drop then and he actually looks at Jared. And Jared's heart breaks just a little bit.

Jared's chair hits the floor with a bang as he stands up and Peter doesn't back away when Jared gets all up in his space, Peter doesn't push him back when Jared grabs hold of both his arms. Peter just stands there, that stupid, sad look on his face and Jared kind of wants to punch him and kiss him all at once.

"Just _tell_ me." Jared squeezes, just once, and lets go, steps back just enough so he can see and folds his arms across his chest.

He waits.

And he waits some more. 

Most anyone that meets him would say that it's normally at this point when he'd start trying to fill the silence, that he doesn't do waiting at all, that he's impatient and impetuous and that they'd lay money on Jared being the one that cracks first. But what most anyone that meets him doesn't know, is that when it comes to Peter he can wait a lifetime, because Peter doesn't give it up if you poke. They've played this game before and Jared's lost too many times to get knocked out in the first round. The longest they've played 'fess up chicken was two hours and thirteen minutes and it's not like either of them is in a rush to be anywhere else right now, so Jared settles in for the long haul. He just sets his feet and raises one eyebrow in a silent _'Well?'_ and waits a little bit longer. 

"Jared -" It's not even been five minutes. Peter totally sucks at 'fess up chicken.

"You totally suck at 'fess up chicken." And at least that brings a smile, so that's something. Right?

"Charlie's going to San Francisco and I thought - I was going to ask - and then you said 'okay' and I didn't want to anymore."

"Peter, that's less ''fess' and more 'huh'? Let's take it from the top, okay?"

Neither of them has moved, like if they sat down it'd be too comfortable and going off of Peter's face right now, he's about as comfortable as Jared feels. So they stand, too far apart for Jared's liking, but then again, anything much past toe to toe is too far apart for Jared's liking, but he's not thinking about that right now.

"Charlie's going to San Francisco."

"Uh-huh."

"Which isn't here, Jared." 

"It's also not New York, Peter, so get to the point." He's not pissed so much as impatient. Although, even he has to admit he does sound a little pissed.

Peter looks at him and Jared kind of feels a little bad for being an asshole, but he wasn't the one who asked for an annulment, so he just leans 'til the counter's cutting into the middle of his back and looks right back at Peter.

"You're an asshole."

"And you ignored me for the whole day. Ignoring trumps asshole." It totally doesn't and Jared knows it.

"So, Charlie's going to San Francisco and I thought that maybe I'd ask her to marry me and then she wouldn't go." Peter says it all in a rush and almost all in one go and it takes Jared a minute to let it all sink in.

"Peter, you've known her for three weeks. Even Janie wasn't three weeks." No. Janie was fucking _years_ and it killed Peter a little more every day they drifted apart 'til there was nothing left but the vase throwing and the ugly words.

He doesn't ask why. It's Peter, who's stupid and trusting and perfect and falls too hard and too fast, ever since Jared can remember, just not with the right - yeah, he needs to cut that one off at the pass. 

Peter sighs, scrubs his hands through his hair and it's left all sticking up and even more stupid- looking than usual and all Jared wants to do is fix it, just so he can mess it up again. He unfolds his arms to do just that and then he remembers they're not here for that, they're here for why Peter thought marrying Charlie was better than being married to him. There's a second where Peter frowns at him and then smiles, because of course Peter fucking knows everything. Jared busies himself instead playing with the electric pepper grinder neither of them has ever bothered trying to figure out how it works.

"Did you ask her?" Jared doesn't look at Peter and Peter doesn't answer right away and there's only so many times Jared can turn an electric pepper grinder over in his hands before it starts to look like maybe he's contemplating sticking it somewhere. "Peter? Did you ask her?"

Peter coughs and then there's not so much space between them anymore and Jared's looking at Peter's shoes.

"I couldn't." Peter's hands on Jared's, uncurling his fingers and taking the damn grinder away from him just as he thinks he's worked it out.

"Okay." Jared's beginning to hate okay. Okay gets him in shit like this. Okay nearly got Peter and Janie married. Okay really isn't fucking okay. Okay?

"You said 'okay' and it wasn't. You didn't say 'no'."

Jared does look up then. He's obviously missing something here. "Did you want me to say 'no'?"

"No - not at first and then you said 'okay' and it really wasn't." 

"Peter -" 

"I guess I wanted you to say 'no'. I didn't know."

Jared needs a map and some of those colored pins Pindy likes so much just to find his way 'round whatever the fuck Peter is trying to say. Or Jared's being stupid and refusing to hear what he thinks Peter is saying. He does know that if he holds on too tight to what he thinks Peter is saying it'll snap and crumble and he'll have nothing left. He gave up holding out for anything more than what they had years ago, choosing to believe Peter was oblivious rather than just not wanting Jared. And he's been okay (there's that fucking word again) with that, no really he has.

"Didn't know?" Jared's not going to ask the other thing, not going to open up his chest and let Peter trample all over what's left of any hope he might've had when they came up with the whole stupid idea in the first place. And maybe Carmen will kick his ass later for it, but - yeah, he's just not doing it.

"You're gonna make me say it, aren't you?" And Peter looks like Jared's just told him he's going on a date with a corpse. "Can't we just do that thing where you know what I'm thinking just by some well-timed eyebrow movements and hand waving?"

"You didn't talk to me for nearly two days, Peter. This is gonna take more than eyebrows and hand waving." It probably wouldn't. It's Peter after all. He snores funny and Jared knows what he had for dinner. 

"I didn't know I didn't want to get an annulment 'til I really thought about marrying Charlie. Until I tried to think about being with her instead of -" Peter tries the eyebrows and Jared just folds his arms again and waits. It's been a couple of days; a couple more minutes won't kill him. Probably.

"I hate you, by the way." Peter frowns and it's the one he doesn't mean, the stalling one. "I don't want an annulment, Jared. I take it back, okay? I don't want to be married to Charlie or living with Charlie or anywhere. I just want to be here and look at your stupid face in the morning." 

Peter lets out a long, low breath and looks at his feet. His hands are shoved so far into his pockets right now Jared would call pocket pool if he wasn't pushing himself away from the counter and into Peter.

And Peter smiles when Jared kisses him, all messy and wet and not at all in the right place but Jared cares about as much as not at all.

"You can shut up now." Jared gets his hands on Peter's face and then up into his hair, tugging it too hard and all messy again.

"Oh, thank God." Peter kind of slumps against Jared and it knocks him back a little and then they're a tangle of arms and stupid words that don't make any kind of sense, but it's okay. This time it really is.

*

It's four-thirty am. In the fucking _morning_ , when Jared wakes up with a start. He's not wearing any pants and doesn't know where he is, but he can hear surf and something that sounds like a chainsaw in the bed next to him. It's not his bed, he knows that much, and the chainsaw sounds a lot like Peter.

Oh.

It's about now he'd leave and there's an almost irresistible part of him that wants to do just that. But there's the better part of him, the one he's going to listen to, that wants him to dive back under the covers, be annoying enough to wake Peter up, see if they can't relive the bits of last night that didn't include either of them being stupid assholes.

"Knew there's a reason you sleep on your own." Peter's voice is all sleepy rough, kind of croaky and it makes Jared's chest ache. "Lay down or fuck off." 

And then Peter's pulling at him and Jared gets smooshed all up in Peter's armpit and his arm gets trapped between them and it's really uncomfortable, but Jared smiles anyway, breathes out and closes his eyes.

"Peter?"

"Go to sleep, Jared."

"Okay."

*

/end


End file.
